[gtopilot]

I am new to this sight, but have read through all the 1970 gto judge ram air IV postings after I received a call today from sixtiesmuscle. Mike informed me that my name and car had entered the postings. I am the Green who owns the Knafel Pontiac 1966 GTO. I have done a great deal of research on the car and Knafel Pontiac. In the process, I have spoken frequently with Bill and John Knafel, and to a lesser extent Arlen Vanke and Larry "Doc" Dixon. Let me try to clear up some of the issues that have been raised about Mr. Knafel and his racing team.

1. I have rarely found evidence to dispute what I have been told by Mr. Knafel. He loves to talk about his accomplishments and he frequently tells his stories in a manner that can be taken more than one way. A case in point. I have heard Mr. Knafel's version of the "Mystery Tornado" a 64 blown 421 GTO driven by Arnie Beswick story, and I have heard Arnie's version. They both agree on most of the facts, but have their own versions of how things actually happened. What I am saying is that after nearly 40 years it is hard to keep the facts straight!

2. Knafel did have a performance package for Pontiacs called the "Tin Indian" kit. It was very similiar to the Royal Bobcat Kit, but not marketed nearly as well.

3. I do not understand why Mr. Knafel now insists that the 63 Tempest, owned by Tim Benko, is not "Running Bear". He originally agreed that it is and Arlen Vanke has confirmed that it is, so I disagree with Mr. Knafel on this issue.

4. There is no letter from the Knafels to me concerning any sort of a commission should I decide to sell the car. However, I have received phone calls from both John and Bill Knafel concerning the issue.

5. Concerning Knafel against Royal, I have not found evidence that a Royal car ever won a race against a Knafel car. If you read the article in Super Stock magazine on the 1966 NHRA Springnationals at Bristol, TN, both the 66 "Tin Indian" GTO and the Royal "GeeTO Tiger" were there. The "Tin Indian" left as the stock eliminator. I asked Milt Shornack what happened, and he said that he had transmission problems and wasn't able to run against the "Tin Indian". Arlen Vanke said that Shornack made it a point to never stage against him. The fact is that the cars never ran against each other, but the drivers have different views on what happened. The Knafel car won C/stock against 19 other cars (including the "GeeTO Tiger") and then won Jr. Stock Eliminator against 12 other cars.

Hopefully, I have shed some light on Knafel Pontiac and Mr. Knafel.